Looking at your photos, it's obvious those walls aren't 6 to 8 feet tall, but more likely about 4 to 5 feet maximum. Take a measurement, but lifting materials over a 4 foot height wall will be easier than tracking through the house. It does sound like you and your wife aren't gardeners nor have much interest or knowledge of gardening; as such h, I wouldn't recommend going to the effort of creating raised beds for veggies if you won't be inclined to take care of them. As you hate maintenance and don't have outside easy access, I'd get rid of maintenance -intensive plants such as the roses, and keep the Birds of Paradise, but learn how to thin them out occasionally to restrict their width and keep them from looking so stubby the way they have been pruned to date. I'd also suggest you'd be better off getting a good local landscape designer to consult/draw up a plan that reflects your concerns and budget, and save no.eyes by doing the easiest parts of the demolition and new installation yourself. A simple wall fountain with selective new plantings that won't outgrow their spots in combination with either decorative rock or bark mulch, a new pathway system and some easy to care for larger sized pots would easily fit within a $2000 landscape materials budget if you do the majority of work yourself. Small scale gardens such as yours can be very attractive, functional and enjoyable if the design is well thought out. Access is possible over the exterior perimeter wall avoiding going through the house. Hiring help with the design would definitely be worthwhile to get the best results, IMHO.

Kato b thanks for that-you should be seeing a lot more Monarchs soon. The past three days I have released six a day. Today when I get home from work I have five more waiting that were born before I left. I found tons and they found me. Have you walked the Pittston River Park yet? I work right there so everyday I go for a walk before I go home and I see quite a bit of butterflies. Mostly Monarchs but a few C Whites. There is Milkweed all over the place by the river so they know where to go. Next year i'm going to have some more host plants in my garden so hopefully it will work. I've already bought Spicebush and Sassafras for the Spicebush Swallowtails. I'm going to add Hops Vine with more Dutchmans Pipe, Violets and Willow(I just can't decided which type yet) Have you also visited Perennial Point for flowers? They have a great selection and they don't use chemicals. They aslso sell alot of Butterfly flowers, like Dutchmans Pipe and Willow and things. Nice place. Well hopefully next year will be better. Aggie

I can sympathize with both you and your H and would try to find a happy medium. I would clear some of your side yard and leave some of it wild, while at the same time forge ahead with your plans for wildlife gardens and the water feature. Here are a couple of guidelines I would follow in clearing some of the overgrowth - 1) Clear all vegetation out from around the shed. I manage property for a living. It is important to remove all vegetation growing close to, onto, or overhanging buildings. The vegetation holds moisture, encourages rot and mold/mildew, and can harbor insect and rodent pests which are very bad for houses and outbuildings. 2) ID your plant species and remove non-native invasive plants. Your state probably has a list of invasive, prohibited, or noxious plants. Although birds and other critters love the tangle of vines and edible berries that grow with such plants as Oriental bittersweet and shrub Honeysuckle, these plants are not native to North America and are extremely invasive and destructive to the native ecosystem. They grow rampant and crowd out native plants, which reduces biodiversity and will hasten extinction of native flora and fauna. Keep the natives, especially woody trees and shrubs like the Chokecherry - an excellent wildlife and bird tree! I wouldn't worry about dead wood, in fact dead trees and branches provide critical habitat for cavity nesters and birds will eat the insects that inhabit dead wood. I leave dead tree snags, shrubbery, and many dead lower branches intact in my yard (just in back, not front - the neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate it!). The birds love to use them for nesting and perches. In fact, I've had a pair of Bluebirds nesting in the natural cavities of dead pine snags this year! Mom Bluebird in nesting cavity -

brightstar, my first thought on seeing that photo was that you have a lovely smile, my second thought was that was a funny-looking dog you were checking on, then my third thought was 'Holy Koala!, that's not a dog...' Looks like you have a very cool job, indeed. I'd be glad to send you the pdf, but I don't know how to e-mail forum members. The document should be quite easy to get via your local reference librarian, but if it isn't, let me know, and I'll try to figure out how to e-mail it to you. Your rose is undoubtedly the long-lost genuine 'Francis Dubreuil' that we've spent many hours trying to track down. Well, maybe. I hope you can get back soon, and catch it blooming. Realistically, 'Souvenir de Thérèse Levet' is a good possibility; 'Princesse de Sagan' is another, and there's a third rose that is confused in commerce with one of those in Oz... Okay, I found it- it's 'Professeur Ganiviat'. There were other red Teas, but I can't think of any that are likelier suspects. Good luck, Virginia